Gophers men's basketball radio analyst Spencer Tollackson leaving job

Spencer Tollackson, the former Gophers center, spent 14 seasons as a radio analyst and now hopes to spend more time with his family.

August 10, 2023 at 4:16AM
Spencer Tollackson, left, listened to his former coach, Tubby Smith, during a game on March 1, 2008. (Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

After 14 years as the Gophers men's basketball radio analyst, Spencer Tollackson announced Tuesday that he's stepping away from the position to spend more time with his family.

Tollackson, 37, had worked with longtime Gophers play-by-play man Mike Grimm since the 2009-10 season. The Chaska native and former Minnesota Mr. Basketball winner played for the Gophers from 2005-08.

"It's time to take a step back and be closer with the family," Tollackson said on Grimm's "Go Gophers Podcast." "The travel the past couple of years was beginning to get tough. Both from a career perspective and family perspective. … It's been a good run. It's bittersweet."

After playing for Tubby Smith in his final college season in 2007-08, Tollackson had a brief professional basketball stint in Germany and worked as a television analyst for the Big Ten Network in 2008-09.

Tollackson, a regional sales manager for a software company, lives in Hugo with his wife, Brie, and two children, Jack and Jules.

"I can't be around more than I was," Tollackson said about the Gophers. "But my 7-year-old [son] is into basketball as I was at that age. Surprising, right? You will see [the family] plenty at Williams Arena and Huntington Bank. I'm looking forward to taking a step with the fam and just kind of diving in more."

Grimm said the Gophers are in the process of finding Tollackson's replacement for the 2023-24 season.

Etc.

Former Gophers softball pitcher Autumn Pease was named Women's Professional Fastpitch Pitcher of the Year. Pease, the 2023 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and a second-team All-America, pitched 90 ⅔ innings with the Texas Smoke, striking out 56 while posting a 3.09 ERA.

Gophers women's swimmer Megan Van Berkom earned two silver medals (400 IM, 4x200 freestyle relay) and men's swimmer Chris Nagy a bronze (1,500 freestyle) at the World University Games in Chengdu, China.

Concordia (St. Paul) was picked by conference coaches as the No. 1 team in the NSIC preseason volleyball poll. The Golden Bears went 31-6 last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II championship match.

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about the writer

Marcus Fuller

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Marcus Fuller covers Gophers men's basketball, national college basketball, college sports and high school recruiting for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

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